Thread waxing device



April 2,1935. FVASHWORTH THREAD WAXING DEVICE Filed June 22, 1929 Pa ented Apr. 2, 1935 Q UNITED STATES THREAD WAXING DEVICE Fred Ashworth, Beverly,

Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. 1., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 22, i929, Serial No. 372,

4Claims.

The present invention has relation to thread treating devices hereinafter for convenience termed thread waxing devices such as are commonly used in connection with wax thread sewing machines for impregnating the thread with liquid wax or lubricating fluid just prior .to its incorporation in the seam. The invention has to do more particularly with thread waxing devices of the type designed to use preparations, which do not require reduction from a solid state through heating as for instance so-called cold or liquid wax.

One object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved device for waxing or lubricating thread which shall be free from the objectionable tendency of prior devices to allow evaporation and deterioration of the wax or other preparation within the pot.

To this end, a feature of the invention consists in a novel construction and arrangement of parts whereby the container for the liquid wax or lubricating fluid is effectively sealed so as to preclude all circulation of air therein and, at the same time, is so mounted that it can be readily removed for cleaning or replacement while leaving the holder for the container supported from the frame of the sewing machine and the cover for the container also supported from the frame of the sewing machine in a position giving access to the thread guides and other devices supported upon the cover.

In connection with the provision of a thread waxing device which is sealed against the admission of air currents, an object of the invention is to make it possible for the operator to know at all times whether suilicient wax remains for proper preparation of the thread. To this end, the

starch which is often applied to thread in its manufacture resists the entry of the wax into the body of the thread, with the result that in many prior types practically all the wax is removed when the thread passes through the stripping device commonly employed to remove surplus wax as the thread emerges from the wax pot, because the wax lies wholly upon the surface of the thread.

with this end in' view, the invention provides surfaces acting to rub and wipe the thread while it is immersed in the wax, so as to work the wax through the size and well into the interior of the thread. Preferably, this is effected by the use of pads of felt, fabric, or otherpermeable'material, or even of material not necessarily permeable immersed in the wax, and pressing firmly against the thread.

With the object of facilitating replenishment of the supply of wax within the wax pot, and avoiding opening the pot to the air for this purpose of refilling, the inventionprovides filling means comprising a tube having its upper end accessible from without the pot, and having its inner end immersed in the liquid wax within the pot and thereby sealed against entry of aircurrent therethrough. This filling tube may be, and preferably is, the same as that through which the thread is led into the wax pot, so that the one tube has a double function. Preferably also, a funnel is permanently incorporated with the upper end of this tube, to facilitate refilling with liquid wax.

Other objects and their methods of attainment are shown and described in the accompanying drawing and specification, containing the features of novelty set forth in the claims appended at the end hereof;

The drawing shows an illustrative embodiment of the invention in a preferred form, and in it Fig. 1 is a side elevation; Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section on line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view; Fig. 4 is a view in vertical section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a view in vertical section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is a plan view of the thread-guiding tube and felt pads, made from a section-line 66 of Fig. 2.

The improved thread waxing device of the invention is adapted to be mounted upon the machine at a suitable point by means of a frame comprising a bracket 8 integrally formed in connection with a portion l0 which serves both as the cover for the wax pot or container I 2 as well as the support for such wax pot and for the various thread guides l4, Hi, the tension 3, and other members of the organization. The wax pot I 2 is of glass, of a shape similar to a common glass tumbler, with its rim adapted to fit against a gasket 20 positioned in an annular seat 22 formed about the concave under side of the cover It. The wax pot is removably held in place by a holder consisting of a bail 24, of relatively rigid material, the ends of which are pivotally attached at 26 and 28 to diametrically opposite points in the edge of the cover III, the

bail being of a shape and size to swing under the wax pot l2 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. At mid-length of the bail is located compression means for pressing'upwardly against the bottom of the wax pot H to force the rim of the latter tightly against the gasket "to seal the joint between the wax pot and the cover III in airtight relation. This compression means comprises a shank 30 in screw-threaded engagement with the interior bore of a bushing 32 which is threaded into a hole formed for it in the bail, the shank being provided at one end with a cross-handle 34 for manipulation, and at the other end with a reduced end portion 3' fitting freely within a central hole in a circular plate 88 and secured in connection therewith by means of a retaining washer 40 and cross-pin 42. Upon the upper face of the circular plate 38 is secured a leather cushion 44 to take yielding bearing against the glass of the wax pot l2, such glass being cut away at the center of the bottom of the wax pot as indicated at It to prevent all chance ofthe end 36 of the shank 30 being forced into contact with the glass to the injury of the latter.

A screw-threaded opening is formed in the cover II at a slight distance to one side of the center of the wax pot, into which is screwed the threaded upper end of a tube 48 which extends well down within the wax pot I2, being secured in place by means of a locknut 50 bearing against the under side of the cover It. Upon this tube, within the wax pot, is mounted a member I! having portions 54 closely encircling the tube II as shown best in Fig. 6, other portions 56 having the shape and plan of an incomplete circle, and other portions following the contour of such portions 56 and then extending laterally as fiat fingers 58. These fingers 58 extend out at right angles to the tube It at one side thereof in pairs, a member of each pair being spaced apart from its associated member, as shown in Fig. 8. The several paired fingers confine between them a folded sheet of felt 60 which is thus held vertically within the wax pot in parallel and radial relation to the tube It. The sheet of felt 60 is scored nearly through its thickness to facilitate bending, and is then folded upon itself, being inserted between the pairs of fingers 50 and wedged between the opposed ends of the portions 56 so that its two halves form pads of considerable length through which the thread 62 may be drawn while passing through the liquid wax 64 occupying the wax pot or receptacle I2. The portions of the felt pads below the level of the wax are of considerable length, so that a thread traveling between them, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 6, is engaged by extensive surfaces of felt which press against the thread from opposite sides under the pressure of the fingers 58. The pads, being immersed constantly in the liquid wax, are thoroughly saturated therewith, and through the nature of their surfaces act to rub the wax through a resistant coating of size or starch which may be on the thread, and to work and wipe the wax thoroughly into the thread in the course of its prolonged contact with such pads.

The thread 62 is led into the wax pot through suitable guiding and tensioning means I4, I! entering through the tube 48, and as it emerges from the lower end of such tube within the wax passes arolmd a thread guide 66 rotatably mounted at 68 upon an arm HI projecting from a split collar 12- which is clamped by means of firmly in place upon the tube 40.

The thread in its upward passage between the felt pads 60 passes through a portion of such pads standing above the level of the liquid wax, such elevated portions of the felt pads acting to give a preliminary wiping action to the thread, removing a certain part of the excess wax thereon before the thread reaches the stripper device shown in Figs. 4 and 5. This device comprises overlapping members 16 and II, each having a V-shaped notch in its end through which the thread passes, the relative proximity of the inmost end of the notch of the member ll being adjusted relatively 'to the inmost end of the notch in member 18 by means of a thumb-screw ll which is threaded into the material of the cover l0 adjacent the passage 82 in the latter through which the thread emerges from the wax pot. The orifice through which the thread emerges can be adjusted to be substantially exactly the diameter of. the thread, so as not only to strip oil all excess wax from the exterior thereof, but also to afford egress to the thread without admitting circulation of air to the interior of the wax pot. 'To permit the passage of bunches or other enlarged portions of the thread through the stripper device, the member It is pivotally mounted upon the cover II and is yieldingly held against the member ll by means of a spring 19 interposed between the member I. and the head of the pin 8| which passes loosely through the member 16 and screws into the cover. The projection of the tube 48 well down within the wax seals the tube against admission of air currents into the wax not.

To provide for replenishing the supply of liquid wax within the wax pot l2 without the need for disengaging it from its sealed relation to the cover III, a funnel-shaped or hopper-like receptacle N is applied to the upper end of the tube 48, as by threading it upon the projecting end of such tube, so that liquid poured into such receptacle will descend through the tube 0. A cover 86, hinged upon a screw 88 and normally held closed by a spring 90, shuts out dirt and other foreign matter from the interior of such receptacle. A handle 91 is provided in connection with this cover, and also a notch is cut out at its edge to permit free travelof the thread therethrough in its descent into the wax pot.

To hold the bail 24 swung aside, for the purpose of facilitating removal of the wax pot, for cleaning, and its subsequent reinstatement, after the compression device bearing against its bottom has been released, aspring 96 has one of its ends secured to the bail, with its intermediate portion coiled about the stud is forming one of the pintles on which the ball is pivoted, and has its other end secured in a notch I" in the end of such stud.

What is claimed as the invention is:-- T

1. Thread waxing devices for sewing machine having, in combination, a receptacle for liquid wax, means for guiding the thread through the wax, and pads of yieldable material immersed in the wax and acting to compress the thread between opposing surfaces, to work the wax into the thread.

2. Thread waxing devices for sewing machines having, in combination, a receptacle for liquid wax, means for guiding the thread through the wax, and members acting upon opposite sides of the thread and tending to compress the thread while it is immersed in the wax, to work the wax into the thread.

3. A thread waxing device for sewing machines comprising a frame, a container for liquid wax, a holder supported on the frame from which the container is readily removable, a sealing cover supported on the frame, means mounted on the cover for guiding thread into and out of the container and through the wax comprising an inlet duct extending below the surface of the wax, pads of yielding material immersed in the wax and acting to compress the thread between opposing surfaces, to work the wax into the thread, a close fitting orifice to permit egress of the thread from the wax pot, and means for holding the cover and container in air-tight sealing engagement.

4. A thread waxing device for sewing machines comprising a, frame, a container for liquid wax or lubricating fluid, a holder supported on the frame from which the container is readily removable, an imperforate sealing cover supported on the frame, means secured in the cover for guiding thread into and out of the container and through the wax or lubricating fiuid comprising an inlet duct extending below the surface of the liquid, and a close fitting orifice for permitting egress of the thread, and means for holding the cover and container in air tight sealing engagement.

FRED ASHWORTH. 

